Tape reel



C. F. DIECKMANN.

TAPE REEL.

APPLICATION HLED FEB.25,1921.

Patented July 25, 1922.

Uhllllf TATS rarer curios, I

CARL F. DIECKMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO EUGENE DIETZGEN COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TAPE REEL.

essrs.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, m2.

Application filed February 25, 1921. Serial No. 447,712.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL F. DIECKMANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of ,Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Tape Reels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tape reels, more particularly of the type used by surveyors, railroad engineers. etc., and one of the objects of the invention is to provide means for preventing overthrow of the tape and reel. It will be understood that in an ordinary instrument of this kind, if the tape is drawn out rapidly the inertia of the mov ing parts tends to unwind more of the tape than is required. Furthermore, this action 'tends to loosen the turns upon the hub of the reel, thus making the tape become tangled up. One of the objects of my invention is to provide an advantageous form of retarding mechanism for preventing this undesirable condition. Another object of the invention is to provide means for preventing the tape reel from getting out from between the cheek plates of the reel and over the edges thereof. Another object is to provide a frame adapted to be readily converted from a breast plate to a ground support and vice versa and to provide an eflicient mounting for the supporting rod and retarding mechanism. Still another object .is to simplify the construction of the supporting frame.

I obtain theseobjects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the complete device, the lower portion being shown in section. and

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation chiefly at the axis of the device, see line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional detail showing the construction of the lower rollers which retain the tape and prevent overthrow of the reel.

Like numerals'denote like parts throughout the several views.

In the form illustrated the reel is supported in a frame 1 provided with a handle 2 at the upper end and a breast plate 3 at the lower end. This frame is formed of a single piece-of aluminum or other metal and passes to the two sides of the reel for su porting it at both ends of its axis. .1 e reel proper has a hub 4 which is journaled 1n the sides of the frame and provided with two circular cheek plates 6, 6 which form the side walls of the reel and confine the tape 8 between them. At one end the hub is provided with a crank 10 by which the reel may be rotated.

Referring now to the retarding -device which prevents overthrow and which also constitutes one of the retaining devices for preventing the tape from jumping out from between the end or check plates of the reel: the lower end of the main frame 1 is bored longitudinally to form a cylindrical chamber 12. A hollow piston 13 slides within this chamber and is backed up by a compression spring 14:, the lower end whereof bears upon a thimble 15 which screws into the lower end of chamber 12. At the upper end the piston 13 has a stem 16 which forms a bearing for a sleeve 17 shown in detail in Figure 3. This sleeve supports two laterally disposed cylindrical hubs 19 which form journal bearings for two friction rollers 18. These rollers are closed at the outer end and the hubs 19 are hollow, the result being that chambers are formed for containing helical compression springs 23. These springs abut sleeve 17 at the inner end and back up the rollers 18 with the result that the rollers press against the inner surfaces of the reel plate 6 and maintain constant contact therewith. This produces two effects; first, the pressure against the plates creates friction which retards the rotation of the reel and thus tends to prevent overthrow, and second, it prevents space occurring between the rollers and the plates, thus .making it certain that the tape reel will be transverse shaft 20 which forms a bearing for two rollers 21. These rollers have grooves 22 which freely accommodate the circular rims of the cheek plates 6. They are freely slidable upon shaft 20 and thus accommodate themselves to any lateral distortion or irregularities of the cheek plates as the latter rotate. Nevertheless, the rollers occupy the entire space between said plates and effectually prevent the tape from escaping out from between them.

The thimble 15, previously mentioned, is internally threaded to take the threaded end of a pointed rod 26. This rod is capable of forming a ground support for the instrument in case it is desired to use it in that manner. If preferred, however, this rod may be removed and the reel may be held against the breast of the user. In order to prevent the thimble from becoming unscrewed when the rod is unscrewed, it is desirable to employ a key 27 or equivalent device, as shown at the lower end of Figure 2.

The operation will now be readily understood:

As the tape or chain is wound up on the drum and therefore increases in diameter, the rollers 18 of the retarding device will yield downward, compressing the sprin 14. The spring is of such design that it wifl maintain a reasonable amount of friction for all amounts of tape wound up. It will be evident that the greater the amount of tape upon the reel, the greater will be the momentum at any given angular speed. This is compensated for by the spring, for when the reel is more nearly filled it will compress the spring to a correspondingly greater extent and produce a correspondingly greater frictional or retarding effect. Thus the mechanism may be said to be automatic and self compensating. As to the second function of the rollers 18, they at all times fill the space between the cheek plates and hence prevent the tape from escaping over the edges of the plates and becoming tangled. The upper rollers 21 assist in confining the tape within the reel and always'fill the full Width of the reel without binding the cheek plates even though the latter be out of true.

It will be observed that the construction of all of the parts is simple. As the frame 1 is made of a single piece, it is not liable to get out of order nor lose its proper confi uration.

aving thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A tape reel having a frame with a cylindrical chamber at one end, a tape reel rotatably mounted in the frame, a thimble screwing into the lower end of said chamher, said thimble forming a plug for the chamber and being internally threaded, a supporting rod adapted to screw into said thimble, a spring within the chamber resting upon said thimble, a plunger slidable in said cylinder and backed up by said spring, and means carried by said plunger adapted to contact the outer layer of tape upon the reel.

2. A tape reel having a frame, a reel proper rotatably mounted in said frame, said reel proper having a hub and circular cheek plates, and guide rollers mounted in said frame at the periphery of the cheek plates and having grooves for accommodating the rims of said plates.

3. A tape reel having a frame with a reel rotatably mounted in it, said reel having a hub and cheek plates, a shaft mounted in the frame just beyond the rim of the cheek plates and extending from one side of the frame to the other, and guide rollers loosely mounted upon said shaft and slidable thereon for limited distances, said guide rollers having annular grooves for receiving the rims of said plates.

4:. A tape reel having a frame with a cylindrical chamber at one end, a tape reel rotatably mounted in the frame, a thimble screwing into the lower end of said cham her, said thimble forming a plug for the chamber and being internally threaded, a supporting rod adapted to screw into said thimble, a"spring within the chamber resting upon said thimble, a plunger slidable in said cylinder, and backed up by said spring, means carried by said plunger adapted to contact the outer layer of tape'upon the reel, and a breast plate formed integral with the name at the end thereof adjacent to the thimble.

5. A tape reel having a frame, a reel journaled therein, the reel having cheek plates for confining the tape laterally, a member mounted in the frame and pro'ecting radially inward between the c eel: plates, a friction element adapted to contact the inner surface of one of the plates, and a spring interposed between said member and said element for keeping the latter in contact with the plate and thus preventing the tape from escaping at that point.

6. A tape reel having a frame, a reel journaled therein, the reel having cheek plates for confining the tape laterally, a member mounted in the frame and pro ecting radially inward between the cheek plates and a pair of friction elements mounted on said member, and adapted to engage the inner surface of said plate, said elements being spring pressed towards said plates for maintaining contact therewit and creating friction to prevent overthrow.

7. A tape reel having a frame, a reel journaled therein. the reel having cheek plates for confining the tape laterally. a member mounted in the frame and projecting radially inward between the cheek plates and a pair of friction elements mounted on said member. and adapted to engage the inner surface of said plate, said elements being spring pressed towards said plates, said member being spring pressed toward the tape for holding said element constant- 10 1 in contact with it.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

CARL F. DIECKMANN. 

